Railroad-tie renewer.



J. B SMITH.

RAILROAD TIE RBNEWER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1a, 1913.

1,081, 1 62. Patented Dec. 9,1913.

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J. B. SMITH.

RAILROAD TIE RENEWER.

APPLICATION FILED APE.18,1913.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

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JESSIE B. SMITH, 0F BENTON, ILLINOIS.

RAILROAD-TIE RENEWER.

Application filed. April 18,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, Jesse B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Benton, in the county of Franklin and State of Illinois,have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Tie Renewers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention is an improved railway tie renewer especially adapted foruse by section hands for removing old ties and substituting new ones intheir stead, the object of the invention being to provide a novelmachine of this character which is adapted for use in removing orreplacing ties by pulling the same lengthwise from beneath the railswithout the necessity of shoveling out and replacing the earth andballast when thus replacing them and also without the necessity ofmarring the ties by sticking picks in them to enable them to be readilyhandled.

This invention is an improvement on the railway tie puller for whichLetters-Patent of the United States, No. 924,391, were granted to meJune 8, 1909, one object of the present invention being to increase thepower of the tie renewer so that it may be readily operated by one manwhen putting in or re moving a tie; another object being to eli'ectimprovements in the construction of the frame which carries a winch orroller, another object being to provide means for controlling the cablesor chains to prevent them machine is not in use; a further object beingto effect improvements in the means for fastening the cables to thedrums of the roller or winch, the invention consisting in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a plan of a portion of arailway track, showing one of my improved tie renewcrs in use thereonfor removing a tie. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my tie renewers inuse, the track being shown in cross section. Fig. 3 is a verticalsection on the plane indicated by the line o e of Fig. 1. Fig. 4- is avertical sectional view on the plane indicated by the line 6-5 of F 1.

ll will first describe the construction of the frame of my improvedrailway tie renewer. A pair of blocks 12 which form the sides of theframe are provided and these blocks have their outer ends securedSpecification of Letters Patent.

at their lower corners on a supporting bar 3 Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

1913. Serial No. 762,141.

which rests on the ties on opposite sides of the tie to be pulled in orout. The length of this supporting bar is such as to enable it to bearon two ties and to span over an intermediate tie and the central portionof the supporting bar is raised as at 4. so that an arch is formed toclear the tie which is to be moved. The inner ends of the blocks 1-2 areprovided with nose portions 5 which are shaped to lit against the web ofone of the track rails and between the outer base flange and the headthereon. Hence, the outer ends of the blocks or side members of theframe are supported by the bar 3 while their inner ends are engageddirectly with and supported by the rail at one side of the track. Theseblocks or side members of the frame are provided on their upper sideswith handles 6 which facilitate the carrying of the tie renewer fromplace to place and the handling thereof.

The cable controlling bar 7 is connected to the blocks or side members12 of the frame at points near their inner ends and at their lowersides, the said bar being provided with guide slots 8 near its ends andits central portion being arched as at 9 to clear the tie to be operatedon.

An axle rod 10 connects the block or side members 1--2 and passesthrough openings in or near the centers of said members. This axle rodis secured in place by washers 11 which bear on the outer sides of themembers 12 and nuts 12 which are secured on the ends of the axle rod,the axle rod serving as a brace to strengthen the construction of theframe and also serving as an axle for the winch 13 which is mountedrevolubly thereon, the axle rod extending through a central bore withwhich the winch is provided. The winch is here shown as having a centralportion 15 near the ends and as provided at one end with a spur gear 16which is arranged at the inner side of the block or member 1 and aratchet wheel 17 which is arranged at the inner side of the block ormember 2. This ratchet wheel is engaged by a pawl 18 which is pivotallyconnected to the block or member 2 by means of a pivot bolt 19 and thesaid pawl and ratchet wheel while permitting the winch to turn in thedirection indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 prevent the winch fromturning in the reverse direction.

A pair of standards 20-21 are arranged on opposite sides of the block 1and extend upwardly and inwardly from the supporting bar 3. A shaft 22is mounted in bearing openings in the block 1 and standards 2021 and hasa squared portion on which a spur gear 2 is fitted, the spur gear beingarranged on the inner side of the block 1 and engaging the gear 16. Thegear 23 is of less diameter than the gear 16. A ratchet wheel 24 is alsofitted on a squared portion of the shaft 22 at a point between andspaced from the block 1 and standard 21. A hand lever 25 is providedwith a fork 26 at its lower end, the arms of the fork being on oppositesides of the ratchet wheel 21 and pivotally mounted on the shaft 22. Apawl 27 is pivotally mounted in the fork of the lever 25 and engages theratchet wheel 24. A forked brace 28 is also provided which has outwardlyconverging members 29 and is provided at its outer end, where themembers 29 converge with an opening through which one end of the shaft22 extends so that the said shaft also has a bearing in the forkedbrace. The shaft is prevented from moving endwise by washers 29 and nuts30 which are on its ends as shown. The rear or inner ends of the members29 of the forked brace are secured to the upper and lower portions ofthe block 1 by means of bolts 32. This forked brace coacts with thestandards 2021 to form bearings for the shaft which carries the spurgear 23 and ratchet wheel 24 and also serves to greatly strengthen theshaft and the frame, as will be understood.

lVire cables, which constitute flexible members are secured each at oneend to one of the drums of the winch the said ends of the wire cablesbeing arranged in conical openings 34 in the drums and secured thereinby casting Babbitt metal or other suitable metal in said openings,hence, the said cables are so securely fastened to the drums that thereis no danger of their breaking therefrom. These cables are adapted to bewound on the drums and unwound therefrom and are passed through theopenings or slots 8 of the cable controlling bar 7 and provided at theirfree ends with swivels 35 to which are connected links 36, hooks 37being connected to the said links.

Guide rollers 38 for the cables are mounted on U-shaped spring supports39 which extend from and are carried by the cable controlling bars 7.These rollers bear against cables and prevent them from becoming kinked.

In the operation of my invention, for the purpose of removing a tie orputting a new tie in place of one which has just been removed, the frameis placed with its supporting bar bearing on ties on opposite sides ofthe one to be moved and with the noses or inner ends of the blocks 1-2of the frame bearing against the outer side of one of the rails.

The cables are attached to the tie to be moved by extending the linksand hooks to the cables across the end of the tie and engaging the hookstogether so as to secure the cables together and to the tie and theoperator impart-s oscillating motion to the hand lever. Each down strokeof the lever 25 causes its pawl 27 to coact with the ratchet wheel 21 topartly turn the shaft 22 and, hence, also the spur gear 23 in thedirection indicated by the arrow (4 in Fig. 2 and the said spur gear 23by being engaged with the larger gear 26 causes the winch 14: to bepartly rotated but to a less extent in the direction indicated by thearrow 1) of Fig. 2.

On each upstroke of the hand lever the ratchet wheels 17 and pawl 18prevent retrograde rotation of the winch and, hence, as the result ofcontinued operation of the hand lever and its connections the winch isslowly revolved by a step-by-step motion and caused to wind up thecables and, hence,

draw the tie in the direction required for re- H moving 1t from underthe rails or placing it in position under the rails, according to theside of the track on which the device is used. Owing to the fact thatthe gear 16 is of greater diameter than the gear 23 which is directlyturned by the operation of the hand lever, great leverage is obtainedand it is rendered easy for one man to remove or replace a tie by theemployment of my improved machine.

Since the tension of the cables is on the under side of' the winch, thetension of the cables is utilized in holding the nose end of the framein place against the track rail, and since the supporting bar 4' bearson the upper sides of the fixed ties there is no possibility of themachine getting out of place while the same is in use.

I claim:

1. A tie renewer comprising a winch, a-

frame in which the winch is mounted, the said frame being arranged to beplaced on a railroad at one side of a rail, cables connected to thewinch for winding thereon, guide rollers for the cables to bear againstthe cables on the winch, and spring supports for the guide rollers andcarried by the said frame.

2. A tie renewer comprising a winch, means for mounting the same on arailroad on one side of a rail, flexible members for winding on thewinch and attachment to a tie, a gear fined to the winch for rotationtherewith, a smaller gear engaging the firstmentioned gear, a ratchetwheel connected to the smaller gear for rotation therewith, a lever andpawl carried thereby to coact with the ratchet gear to impart astep-bystep rotation to the larger and smaller gears and hence also tothe winch, and means to prevent reverse rotation of the winch.

3. A tie replacer comprising a frame, a

winch mounted for rotation in the frame, means to operate the winch,cables attached to the winch for winding thereon, a cable controllingbar with which the frame is provided, said bar having guides for thecables, spring supports carried by said bar and rollers to bear againstthe cables and mounted in said spring supports.

4:. In a railway tie renewer, a frame co1nprising side members and asupporting bar connected to the side members at one end, a winch anangedbetween the side members and carried thereby, cables attached to thewinch, a gear at one end of the winch and revoluble therewith, anoperating shaft, bearings therefor with which the frame is provided, asmall gear and a ratchet wheel carried by the operating shaft, saidsmall gear being engaged with the gear of the Winch, a lever mounted forpivotal movement on the operating shaft, a pawl carried by said leverand for engagement with the ratchet wheel, and means to prevent reverserotation of the winch.

5. In a tie renewer, a frame comprising a supporting bar, side membersarranged on one side of and extending from the supporting bar, a cablecontrolling bar connecting said side members and spaced from thesupporting bar, a winch mounted between the side members, a gear mountedfor rotation with the winch and at one end thereof, standards carried bythe supporting bar and arranged at opposite sides of one of the sidemembers an operating shaft mounted in said standards and also in saidlast-mentioned side member, a small gear and a ratchet wheel on saidoperating shaft for rotation therewith, the small gear engaging the gearof the winch, a lever having a fork pivotally mounted 011 the operatingshaft and astride of the ratchet wheel, a pawl carried by said lever toengage the ratchet wheel, a forked brace connected to the last namedside member and also having a bearing for the oper ating shaft, andmeans to prevent reverse rotation of the winch,

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JESSE B. SMITH.

WVitnesses W. B. BLAKE, HARRY STOTLAR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

